Idea Cellular lifts profit 57 percent on higher voice rates, data use

Mobile phone company Idea Cellular reported a 57 percent jump in quarterly profit on Monday, benefiting from fewer competitors, higher call rates and more customers using data plans.

Idea Cellular, India's third-biggest mobile phone operator by users and revenue, said consolidated first-quarter profit was 7.28 billion rupees ($120.8 million), up from 4.63 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts had expected Idea, part of the Aditya Birla conglomerate and nearly a fifth-owned by Malaysia's Axiata , to earn 6.29 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Leading mobile carriers in India started gaining market share in 2013 and were able to raise prices of voice calls after a court order on a licensing scandal forced some smaller companies out of the market (http://reut.rs/1puQy2p).

Revenue at the company rose to 75.55 billion indian rupees from 65.34 billion rupees last year.

Unlike rival Bharti Airtel , which has other businesses, Idea is solely a mobile phone services company and only and operates within India, making it a preferred telecoms stock for some brokerages.

Monthly average revenue per user, an important metric to evaluate the health of telecoms carriers, rose 4.6 percent on the previous quarter to 181 rupees. Average realisation per minute, another key metric, rose to 0.45 rupees from 0.44 rupees in the fourth quarter.

Idea also said that net debt had been cut by 52.09 million rupees to 139.77 million rupees in the quarter, adding that the reduction allows it to participate in a forthcoming spectrum auction. Idea, which has already bought airwaves for $1.75 billion from a state auction this year, needs to buy more in the next sale to renew its permits in nine service areas.

Idea shares closed at 139.75 rupees in Mumbai.($1 = 60.2700 Indian Rupees)

Continue

BSE Sensex closes at record high, posts biggest gains since September

Indian shares hit a record high on Friday, posting their biggest daily gains since September on hopes the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party would win a majority in elections set to conclude next week, sending blue-chips such as ICICI Bank sharply higher.

The benchmark BSE index rose as much as 3.15 percent to a record high at 23,048.49, surpassing its previous high of 22,939.31 hit on April 25. BSE Sensex closed 650.19 higher at 22,994.23

The broader NSE index rose as much as 3.18 percent to as high as 6,871.35, surpassing its previous all-time high at 6,869.85 on April 25. It rose 2.99 percent.

Both indexes posted their biggest single-day gains since Sept. 19, 2013.

Banking stocks gained the most with the NSE banking sub-index gaining 5.5 per cent to hit a record high at 13,814.25. ICICI Bank surged 7.2 per cent.

Continue

Sensex snaps 5-day fall on value buying

Snapping its five-day falling trend, the BSE benchmark index Sensex on Monday recovered over 41 points helped by gains in bluechips like RIL, ITC and Larsen & Toubro on value buying by funds and retail investors.

After a lower start, the 30-share index bounced back to touch intra-day high of 22,592.03 before settling at 22,445.12, a moderate rise of 41.23 points, or 0.18 per cent.

The index touched the session's low of 22,354.45. The gauge had lost 472.65 points in the past five sessions.

Similarly, the broad-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange ended 4.55 points, or 0.07 per cent higher at 6,699.35. It touched a high of 6,741.05 and a low of 6,680.45.

"The market has become volatile as participants prefer to book profits at every rise," said Manoj Choraria, a Delhi-based broker.

Reliance Industries surged by 1.82 per cent, ONGC by 1.93 per cent and ITC Ltd by 1.22 per cent. These three carry the most weightage in the Sensex.

Larsen and Toubro continued its rising streak on funds buying and gathered another 1.62 per cent.

Of the 30 Sensex scrips, 17 rose while 13 ended lower.

Banking counters were back in demand after they retreated recently on profit-booking, while oil and gas sector stocks rebounded on emergence of buying at prevailing levels.

The oil and gas sector index gained the most by surging 1.53 per cent to 9,697.33 followed by metal index by 1.21 per cent to 9,959.13. Capital goods index rose by 0.91 per cent to 12,011.27, while Banking index gained 0.40 per cent to 14,749.12.

Continue

Biocon shares slump 5% on earnings disappointment:see4news

Shares in Biocon slumped after earnings disappointed some investors.

Biocon said on Wednesday its December-quarter consolidated net profit rose 14 percent to R

s.

 105 crore.

Some analysts cited disappointment over operating margins, with Kotak Institutional Equities expressing concerns about research and development margins.

"R&D margin at 2.9 per cent is the lowest in the past several quarters, which raises concerns on sustainability of the margin improvement," it said in a report.

Investors are also locking profits after the stock jumped 8.5 per cent in the previous three sessions.

Biocon shares were trading down 5.2 per cent at 3 p.m.

Continue